Strategic management of material resources for optimal academic delivery in public universities in Rivers State, Nigeria
Abstract
This study investigated the strategic management of material resources for optimal academic delivery in public universities in Rivers State. The study was guided by three objectives, three research questions and three hypotheses. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design with a population of 362 management staff (Vice-Chancellors, Deputy Vice-Chancellors, Registrars, Bursars, Directors of Physical Planning and Development, Deans of Faculties, and Heads of Departments) from the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State University, and Ignatius Ajuru University of Education. The entire population was used by adopting the census sampling method. A structured questionnaire titled “Strategic Management of Material Resources for Optimal Academic Delivery Questionnaire (SMMROAD Q)” was used for data collection. The questionnaire was validated by three experts. The reliability of the instrument was established using Cronbach Alpha statistics with coefficients of 0.81, 0.77, and 0.85 for the various clusters of the instrument. The research questions were answered using mean and standard deviation while the hypotheses were tested using z-test analysis at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that while universities have documented strategic plans for material resources, there is a general inadequacy in the current state of strategic planning, characterized by limited stakeholder input, insufficient systematic needs assessment, and infrequent plan reviews. Material resource allocation practices were found to lack timeliness, transparency, and equity. Consequently, the current strategic planning and resource allocation practices negatively impacts academic delivery, with inadequate material resources frequently hindering effective teaching, learning, and research. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that universities should strengthen stakeholder engagement and systematic needs assessment in strategic planning, enhance transparency and timeliness in resource allocation, and prioritize investment in critical material resources and their maintenance.